by 
Updated on December 10, 2021
DC Comics’ “Doomsday Clock” and “Dark Metal” topped direct market comic sales for January 2018. Meanwhile, “The Legend of Korra” topped direct market trade paperback/graphic novel sales; “Saga” did well in bookstore graphic novel sales.
Direct market
Comics
The top 10 selling direct market comics for January 2018, according to Diamond:
| Rank | Title | Price | Publisher |
| 1 | DOOMSDAY CLOCK #3 | $4.99 | DC |
| 2 | DARK NIGHTS METAL #5 | $3.99 | DC |
| 3 | BATMAN #38 | $2.99 | DC |
| 4 | BATMAN #39 | $2.99 | DC |
| 5 | THE WALKING DEAD #175 (MR) | $3.99 | IMA |
| 6 | AVENGERS #675 | $4.99 | MAR |
| 7 | BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT #4 | $3.99 | DC |
| 8 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN/VENOM: VENOM INC. OMEGA #1 | $4.99 | MAR |
| 9 | BATMAN AND THE SIGNAL #1 | $3.99 | DC |
| 10 | OLD MAN HAWKEYE #1 | $3.99 | MAR |
DC topped the comic sales charts with the usual: “Doomsday Clock,” “Dark Nights Metal,” and Bat-books aplenty. Marvel appeared in a few spots, plus Image’s “The Walking Dead” made fifth place.
“Scooby-Doo Team-Up” #34, the issue featuring the Birds of Prey, sold 6,610 issues, according to Comichron sales figures for January.
Trade paperbacks/graphic novels
Here’s Diamond’s list of the top 10 trade paperbacks/graphic novels in the direct market for January:
| Rank | Title | Price | Publisher |
| 1 | LEGEND OF KORRA VOLUME 2: TURF WARS PT 2 TP | $10.99 | DAR |
| 2 | THE WICKED & THE DIVINE VOLUME 6: IMPERIAL PHASE PART 2 TP (MR) | $16.99 | IMA |
| 3 | DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: DATE WITH DISASTER TP | $9.99 | DC |
| 4 | DESCENDER VOLUME 5: RISE OF THE ROBOTS TP | $16.99 | IMA |
| 5 | KILL OR BE KILLED VOLUME 3 TP (MR) | $16.99 | IMA |
| 6 | SAGA VOLUME 8 TP (MR) | $14.99 | IMA |
| 7 | WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN VOL. 6: DAYS OF ANGER TP | $17.99 | MAR |
| 8 | VISION HC | $39.99 | MAR |
| 9 | SAGA VOLUME 1 TP (MR) | $9.99 | IMA |
| 10 | HARLEY QUINN VOLUME 4: SURPRISE, SURPRISE TP | $16.99 | DC |
Former Nickelodeon series “The Legend of Korra” is still running in comics, and is the top-selling graphic novel for January in comic shops.
Image’s books take up half of the top 10 slots, while Marvel’s top seller is an “Old Man Logan” volume.
Meanwhile, DC’s top seller is the newest volume of “DC Super Hero Girls.” “Date with Disaster” focuses on Batgirl and Lois Lane, but also on Commissioner Gordon wanting to date (and Barbara’s reactions to such). It’s a positive sign that “DC Super Hero Girls” is popular enough it’s DC’s top selling graphic novel, even in the direct market.
Bookstores
ICv2 and Bookscan have announced they’ll now release top 20 sales lists for graphic novels, divided into three main categories: adults, kids, and manga. Basic information (the top 20 lists themselves) are free, while subscribers can see actual sales figures.
Granted, Bookscan isn’t as high profile as the former New York Times best-seller lists. Still, it’s a major improvement in seeing what graphic novels sell well in bookstores.
It’ll also let me discuss a greater variety of comics for these posts, including more attention to books I actually like (versus most of what usually makes the top 10 single-issue Diamond lists).
Adults
Bookscan top 20 adult graphic novels for January 2018
“Saga,” volume 8 TPB is the top-selling trade on this list.
Also appearing in the top 20 are Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home” (at #4) and “March: Book One” by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (at #14).
Manga takes up almost half the slots in the top 20, including series such as “My Hero Academia” and “Tokyo Ghoul.”
Only three superhero titles appear on this list: “Watchmen,” “Black Panther” (volume 1 of the current series), and a recent “Batman” volume.
Kids
Bookscan top 20 kids graphic novels for January 2018
“Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties” HC is the top selling kids’ graphic novel. “Dog Man” features the adventures of a canine police officer. It’s by Dav Pilkey, the creator of “Captain Underpants.”
Raina Telgemeier dominates the chart here, with eight of the top 20 graphic novels written by the author of “Smile.”
Coming in at #12 is Hope Larson’s graphic novel adaption of Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time.”
Manga
Bookscan top 20 manga for January 2018
“RWBY,” a Japanese manga adaption of an American anime-style web series, is the top seller this month.
I notice a whopping 17 of the top 20 manga volumes are published by one publisher, Viz Media.
